Medical care, politics of medicine

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Changing the Healthcare Paradigm: A Physician And Patient Centered Approach

put the power of individual health choices back where it belongs with the patient and the physician. People have good sense, and if given more control of their own healthcare costs along with clearly presented options that include cost transparency (from both health care providers and hospitals who will have to compete for a savvy patient consumer), they will choose what is best for them. When the inflated costs injected by the government and the insurance industry are stripped out, it would lead to a more affordable medical system that will work well for the foreseeable future.

Are High Health Care Costs Tied To Evidence-Based Medicine?

It can also be argued that evidence-based medicine has exponentially increased the cost of health care. In theory, the essence of evidence-based medicine is science. However, in practice it has become more about money. The system has led to a game where players like the pharmaceutical industry are given an edge. Over the past 10-15 years there has been a change in the parameters of our most common diseases such as hypertension, obesity and high cholesterol that has led to an exponential rise in the prevalence and the number of prescriptions written. These changes have led to a dramatic increase in both the number of people who meet criteria for treatment with prescription drugs and by extension the rising cost of healthcare. The question that has yet to be answered is why are we less healthy despite taking ever increasing amounts of prescription medication?

Why Are We Ignoring The Role Of The Food Industry In Healthcare Reform?

If we really want to get serious about decreasing the cost of healthcare, we need to have a conversation about the root cause. There is something intrinsically wrong about government policies that make it cheaper for us to buy junk food than it is to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. We will only be able to limit our costs by promoting prevention and wellness. Neither can exist until something is done about an industry that is given free reign to pursue profit over our health.

Massachusetts Voters Decided To Make A Stand, But Is It Enough To Save American Healthcare?

It has become clear that health care reform in its present state has nothing to do with delivering quality healthcare to the American people. The idea of universal coverage, with protection against insurance company wrongs (e.g., denying patients for pre-existing conditions and limiting the insurance company’s ability to deny coverage when you really need it) has been the sheep’s clothing cloaking a bill designed to destroy our healthcare system. In short, the proposed healthcare reform will doom us to a future that has the potential to make us sicker by limiting our access to screening exams such as mammograms, and limiting our access to physicians while making us pay more for the privilege. The vote in Massachusetts was a stand against those in the government who are bent on telling us that they know what is best for us. I have been astounded by the complete contempt in which those in power hold the American people. A majority of the people in this country think the healthcare reform effort is going in the wrong direction. Although the vote in Massachusetts made it clear that there was major opposition to the current bill, I have doubts that the voices of the majority will be heard and this debacle will be stopped.

Will Healthcare Reform Limit Patient Choice And Further Empower Big Pharma?

Since the passage of the Senate’s healthcare reform bill, those in favor of the bill have emphasized the fact that it will expand insurance coverage to approximately 30 million new people who currently are uninsured, stop insurance companies from dropping insurance to those who get sick, and prohibit caps on coverage in cases of catastrophic